Wireless communications with frequency band selection

ABSTRACT

A probe, listen and select (PLS) technique can be used to select from an available frequency spectrum a frequency band whose communication quality is suitable for wireless communication at a desired rate. Probe packets can be transmitted on different frequencies ( 223 ) during a known period of time (T PLS ), and frequency channel quality information can be obtained ( 225 ) from the probe packets. This quality information can then be used to select a desirable frequency band ( 227 ). The communication quality of the selected band can also be used as basis for selecting ( 141 ) from among a plurality of modulation and coding combinations that are available for use in communications operations.

This application claims the priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e)(1) of thefollowing copending U.S. provisional applications: 60/210,851 filed onJun. 9, 2000; 60/215,953 filed on Jul. 5, 2000; 60/216,290 60/216,436,60/216,291, 60/216,292, 60/216,413 and 60/216,433 filed on Jul. 6, 2000;60/217,269, 60/217,272 and 60/217,277 filed on Jul. 11, 2000; and60/228,860 filed on Aug. 29, 2000. All of the aforementioned provisionalapplications are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

This application is related to the following copending applicationsfiled contemporaneously herewith by the inventors of the presentapplication: Docket Nos. TI-31284 and TI-31286 respectively entitled“Wireless Communications with Efficient Channel Coding” and “WirelessCommunications with Efficient Retransmission Operation”.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to wireless communications and, moreparticularly, to wireless communications that utilize: channel coding;multiple data rates; multiple modulation and channel coding schemes; orautomatic repeat request (ARQ).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The IEEE 802.15 Task Group 3 has outlined requirements for a high ratewireless personal area network (WPAN). Various data rates are to beprovided to support, for example, audio, video, and computer graphics.

The present invention provides for a WPAN that supports data rates for avariety of applications including audio, video and computer graphics.According to the invention, a probe, listen and select technique can beused advantageously to select from an available frequency spectrum afrequency band whose communication quality is suitable for communicationat a desired data rate. Probe packets are transmitted on differentfrequencies during a known period of time, and frequency channel qualityinformation is obtained from the probe packets. This quality informationis used to select a desirable frequency band. The communication qualityof the selected band can also be used as a basis for selecting fromamong a plurality of modulation and coding combinations that areavailable for use in communication operations. Further according to theinvention, ARQ operations can be implemented by sending a plurality ofdata packets in a superpacket, and responding with an ARQacknowledgement packet that indicates which packets of the superpacketrequire retransmission. Further according to the invention, a dataencoding algorithm can be used to generate redundant (overhead) bitsfrom original data bits, and the data bits and redundant bits can besent in respectively separate transmissions, if the redundant bits areneeded. At the receiver, the original data bits can be determined fromthe received redundant bits, or the received data bits and the receivedredundant bits can be combined and decoded together to produce theoriginal data bits.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates in tabular format exemplary parameters of a WPANaccording to the invention.

FIG. 2 diagrammatically illustrates exemplary configurations of WPANtransceiver devices according to the invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates in tabular format exemplary parameters associatedwith first and second operational modes of a WPAN transceiver accordingto the invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates in tabular format a transmit spectrum mask associatedwith the operational modes illustrated in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a state transition diagram which illustrates exemplarytransitioning of transceiver devices between the modes of operationillustrated in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 diagrammatically illustrates an exemplary frame format structurefor mode 2 to transmissions according to the invention.

FIG. 6A graphically illustrates exemplary constellation points of the 16QAM constellation which can be utilized for selected symbol transmissionin mode 2 according to the invention.

FIG. 7 diagrammatically illustrates operations of an exemplary WPANaccording to the invention.

FIG. 8 is an exemplary timing diagram for communications in the WPAN ofFIG. 7.

FIG. 9 diagrammatically illustrates an exemplary acquisition and packetreception algorithms for a mode 2 receiver according to the invention.

FIG. 10 diagrammatically illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a mode 2receiver which can implement the algorithms of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 diagrammatically illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a mode 2transmitter according to the invention.

FIG. 12 illustrates exemplary transmit encoding and receive decodingoperations according to the invention.

FIG. 12A diagrammatically illustrates pertinent portions of an exemplarytransceiver embodiment that can perform receive operations shown in FIG.12.

FIG. 12B diagrammatically illustrates pertinent portions of an exemplarytransceiver embodiment that can perform transmit operations shown inFIG. 12.

FIG. 13 graphically compares exemplary simulation results obtained usingconventional Bluetooth operation (131) with exemplary simulation resultsobtained using mode operation according to the invention with 16 QAM(132) and 64 QAM (133).

FIGS. 14 and 14A illustrate in tabular format exemplary parametersassociated with WPAN transceivers operating in mode 3 according to theinvention.

FIG. 14B illustrates part of an exemplary embodiment of the modecontroller of FIG. 19A.

FIG. 15 illustrates in tabular format a transmit spectrum mask which canbe used by mode 3 transceivers according to the invention.

FIG. 16 graphically compares mode 3 performance with and without PLSaccording to the invention.

FIG. 17 is a state transition diagram which illustrates exemplarytransitions of transceiver devices between mode 1 and mode 3 accordingto the invention.

FIG. 18 diagrammatically illustrates operations of an exemplary WPANaccording to the invention.

FIG. 19 is a timing diagram which illustrates the exemplary statetransitions of FIG. 17 and exemplary operations which can be performedin the mode 1 state.

FIG. 19A diagrammatically illustrates an exemplary embodiment of atransceiver which supports mode 1 and mode 3 according to the invention.

FIG. 20 diagrammatically illustrates an exemplary format of a probepacket according to the invention.

FIG. 21 illustrates in detail an example of the PLS portion of FIG. 19.

FIG. 21A diagrammatically illustrates pertinent portions of an exemplaryembodiment of the mode controller of FIG. 19A.

FIG. 21B illustrates exemplary operations which can be performed by themode controller of FIGS. 19A and 21A.

FIG. 22 diagrammatically illustrates an exemplary format of a selectionpacket according to the invention.

FIG. 23 graphically illustrates exemplary PLS sampling results obtainedaccording to the invention.

FIGS. 24 and 24A diagrammatically illustrate exemplary time slot formatsfor mode 3 communication according to the invention.

FIG. 24B illustrates exemplary operations of a retransmission techniqueaccording to the invention.

FIG. 24C illustrates pertinent portions of an exemplary transceiverembodiment that can implement operations shown in FIG. 24B.

FIG. 25 illustrates an exemplary packet format for use with the timeslot formats of FIG. 24.

FIG. 25A illustrates an exemplary ARQ packet format according to theinvention.

FIG. 26 diagrammatically illustrates an exemplary format of a trainingsequence which can be used in conjunction with the packet format of FIG.25.

FIG. 27 illustrates a portion of the slot format of FIG. 24 in moredetail.

FIG. 28 illustrates in tabular format exemplary transmission parameterswhich can be used for video transmission using mode 3 according to theinvention.

FIG. 29 diagrammatically illustrates exemplary acquisition and packetreception algorithms for mode 3 operation according to the invention.

FIG. 30 diagrammatically illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a mode 3receiver according to the invention which can implement the algorithmsof FIG. 29.

FIG. 31 diagrammatically illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a mode 3transmitter according to the invention.

FIG. 32 graphically illustrates an exemplary mapping of bits to symbolswhich can be used in mode 3 operation.

FIG. 33 graphically illustrates another exemplary mapping of bits tosymbols which can be used in mode 3 operation.

FIG. 34 graphically illustrates a typical channel impulse responseencountered by transceivers according to the invention.

FIG. 35 diagrammatically illustrates an exemplary embodiment of anequalizer section which can be used to provide equalization of thechannel model of FIG. 34.

FIG. 36 diagrammatically illustrates another exemplary equalizer sectionwhich can be used to equalize the channel model of FIG. 34.

FIG. 37 diagrammatically illustrates an exemplary turbo coder for use inconjunction with mode 3 operation according to the invention.

FIGS. 38–44 graphically illustrate exemplary simulation results for mode3 operation in various communication channels.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention includes a PHY layer solution to the IEEE 802.15 TaskGroup 3 that offers the best solution in terms of complexity vs.performance according to the criteria document of the IEEE P802.15Working Group for Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs),“TG3-Criteria-Definitions”, 11^(th) May 2000, which outlinesrequirements for high rate wireless personal area network (WPAN)systems, and which is incorporated herein by reference. The requireddata rates to be supported by a high rate WPAN according to theinvention are specified in the aforementioned criteria document. Thedata rates for audio are 128–1450 kbps, for video are from 2.5–18 Mbpsand for computer graphics are 15, 38 Mbps. Due to the wide range for therequired data rates, and in order to have a cost-effective solutioncovering all the data rates, the invention provides for a two or threemode system in the 2.4 GHz band. The available modes include:

(1) Mode 1 is a conventional Bluetooth 1.0 system giving a data rate of1 Mbps.

(2) Mode 2 uses the same frequency hopping (FH) pattern as Bluetooth butuses a 64 QAM modulation giving a data rate of 3.9 Mbps.

(3) Mode 3 selects a good 22 MHz band in the 2.402–2.483 GHz ISM using aprobe, listen and select (PLS) technique, and transmits up to 44 Mbpsusing direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS).

Examples of system parameters according to the invention are summarizedin FIG. 1. Wireless transceiver devices according to the invention cansupport any combination of the aforementioned operational modes.Examples include: devices capable of handling mode 1+mode 2 for coveringaudio and Internet streaming data rates of up to 2.5 Mbps; and devicescapable of handling mode 1+mode 3 for covering DVD-High Quality Gameapplications of up to 38 Mbps. These exemplary configurations are showndiagrammatically in FIG. 2.

The mode 1 for the proposed system is conventional Bluetooth operation,which is described in detail in Specification of the Bluetooth System,Version 1.0A, Jul. 26, 1999, which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIG. 3 summarizes the parameters for mode and also compares it to mode1. An exemplary symbol rate for mode is 0.65 Msymbols/sec. (other ratesare also available) giving a bit rate of 2.6 Mbits/sec for 16 QAM(16-ary quadrature amplitude modulation) and 3.9 Mbits/sec. for 64 QAM(64-ary quadrature amplitude modulation). The transmit spectrum mask formode can be, for example, the same as Bluetooth, as shown in FIG. 4. ForFIG. 4, the transmitter is transmitting on channel M and the adjacentchannel power is measured on channel N. The FIG. 4 spectrum mask can beachieved, for example, by a raised cosine filter of α=0.54 and a 3 dBbandwidth of 0.65 MHz for the symbol rate of mode 2.

In one example of operation in mode 1 and mode 2, a Bluetooth master andslave first synchronize to each other and communicate using mode 16 andthen enter mode 2 upon negotiation. FIG. 5 shows an exemplary transitiondiagram for the master and slave to enter and exit mode 2. The entryinto and exit from mode is negotiable between the master and slave.

An exemplary frame format structure for master to slave and slave tomaster transmissions in mode is similar to mode 1 and is shown in FIG.6. In one example the preamble consists of the pattern (1+j)* {1, −1, 1,−1, 1, −1, 1 −1, 1, −1, 1, −1, 1 −1, 1, −1, 1, −1, 1, −1}, which aids inthe initial symbol timing acquisition of the receiver. The preamble isfollowed by the 64 bit Bluetooth sync. word transmitted using quadraturephase shift keying (QPSK), implying a 32 symbol transmission in mode 2.The sync. word is followed by the 54 bit Bluetooth header transmittedusing QPSK, implying 27 symbols in mode 2. The farthest constellationsin the 16/64 QAM are employed for the transmission of the preamble,sync. word and header as shown in FIG. 6A. The header is followed by apayload of 1 slot or up to 5 slots, similar to Bluetooth. The maximumnumber of bits in the payload is thus 7120 bits for 16 QAM transmissionand 10680 bits for 64 QAM transmission.

The master can communicate with multiple slaves in the same piconet,some slaves in mode and others in mode 1, as shown in the exemplary WPANof FIG. 7. The timing diagram of FIG. 8 shows an example for a BluetoothSCO HV1 link (i.e., mode 1) between the master M and slaves S₁ and S₃,with slave S₂ communicating with the master in mode 2 (see also FIG. 7).

A block diagram of exemplary receiver algorithms for acquisition andpacket reception in mode is shown in FIG. 9, and an exemplary receiverblock diagram for supporting mode is shown in FIG. 10. In FIG. 10, theA/D converter can sample the incoming symbols at, for example, 2samples/symbol, implying a 1.3 MHz sampling rate. An exemplarytransmitter block diagram for supporting mode is shown in FIG. 11.Several blocks can be shared between the transmitter (FIG. 11) and thereceiver (FIG. 10) to reduce the overall cost of a transceiver for mode2. Similarly, several blocks of the mode transmitter and mode receivercan be used also for mode 1, thereby reducing the overall cost ofimplementing a transceiver for combined mode 1+mode 2.

A convolutional code of rate ½, K=5 is used at 101 in the example ofFIG. 10 to improve the packet error rate performance in the presence ofautomatic repeat requests (ARQ). Whenever the CRC of a packet isdetected in error at 102, the transmitter sends the parity bits in theretransmission. The receiver combines the received data across packetsin the Viterbi decoder to improve the overall performance of thereceiver. A flow diagram of an exemplary scheme is shown in FIG. 12.

In the example of FIG. 12, the original data bits and corresponding CRCbits are encoded (e.g., using convolutional coding) at 120 to produce anencoded result that includes the original data bits and correspondingCRC bits, plus parity bits (redundant overhead bits) generated by theencoding algorithm. After the encoding operation at 120, only theoriginal data bits and corresponding CRC bits are initially transmittedat 121. If the CRC at the receiver does not check correctly, then aretransmission is requested at 122. In response to the retransmissionrequest, the parity bits associated with the previously transmitted databits are transmitted at 123. At the receiver, the received parity bitsare mapped into corresponding data and CRC bits using conventionaltechniques at 125. If the CRC of the data bits produced at 125 iscorrect at 124, these data bits are then passed to a higher layer. Ifthe CRC does not check correctly at 124, then the received parity bitsare combined with the associated data bits plus CRC bits(earlier-received at 121) for Viterbi decoding at 126. Thereafter, at127, if the data bits and corresponding CRC bits generated by theViterbi decoding algorithm produce a correct CRC result, then those databits are passed to a higher layer. Otherwise, the data bits that werereceived at 121 are discarded, and a retransmission of those data bitsis requested at 128.

The original data bits and corresponding CRC bits are then retransmittedat 129 and, if the CRC checks, the data bits are passed to higher layer.Otherwise, the retransmitted data bits plus CRC bits are combined withthe parity bits (earlier-received at 123) for Viterbi decoding at 1200.If the data bits and corresponding CRC bits generated at 1200 by theViterbi decoding algorithm produce a correct CRC result at 1201, thenthose data bits are passed to a higher layer. Otherwise, the parity bitsthat were transmitted at 123 are discarded, and retransmission of theparity bits is requested at 1202. Thereafter, the operations illustratedgenerally in the flow from 123 through 1202 in FIG. 12 can be repeateduntil the CRC for the data bits checks correctly or until apredetermined time-out occurs.

FIG. 12A diagrammatically illustrates pertinent portions of an exemplarytransceiver embodiment which can implement receiver operations describedabove with respect to FIG. 12. The incoming packet data including, forexample, the received version of the original data bits andcorresponding CRC bits, is buffered at 1204 and is also applied to CRCdecoder 1205. In response to the CRC decoding operation, a controller1206 generates either a negative (NAK) or positive (ACK) acknowledgmentin the form of an ARQ packet for transmission to the other end. If theCRC checks correctly (ACK), then the controller 1206 signals buffer 1204to pass the buffered data to a higher layer. On the other hand, if theCRC did not check correctly (NAK), then, in response to the negativeacknowledgement, the other end will transmit the parity bits, which areinput to the controller 1206 and buffered at 1204. The controller 1206maps the received parity bits into corresponding data and CRC bits. Thismapping result is applied to the CRC decoder 1205 and, if the CRC checkscorrectly, the data bits are passed to a higher layer at 1207.

If the CRC of the mapping result does not check correctly, then thecontroller 1206 signals a Viterbi decoder 1203 to load the parity bitsand data (plus CRC) bits from the buffer 1204 and perform Viterbidecoding. The resulting data plus CRC) bits output at 1208 from theViterbi decoder 1203 are input to the CRC decoder 1205. If the CRC ofthe Viterbi-decoded data bits checks correctly, then the controller 1206directs the Viterbi decoder to pass the Viterbi-decoded data bits to ahigher layer at 1209. On the other hand, if the CRC of theViterbi-decoded data bits does not check correctly, then the controller1206 outputs another negative acknowledgment, to which the other endwill respond by retransmitting the original data (plus CRC) bits (see129 in FIG. 12), which are received and written over thepreviously-received data (plus CRC) bits in buffer 1204. If the CRC forthese newly-received data bits does not check, then the controller 1206signals for Viterbi decoding of the newly-received data (plus CRC) bitsand the previously-received parity bits (which are still in buffer1204). If this Viterbi decoding does not result in a correct CRC for thedata bits, then controller 1206 can output another NAK, in response towhich the parity bits can be re-transmitted, input to controller 1206,and written over the previous parity bits in buffer 1204.

FIG. 12B diagrammatically illustrates pertinent portions of an exemplaryembodiment of a transceiver which can implement transmitter operationsillustrated in FIG. 12. In FIG. 12B an encoder 1210 (e.g. aconvolutional encoder) encodes the uncoded data, and stores the data(plus CRC) bits and corresponding parity bits in buffer 1213. A pointer1217 driven by a counter 1211 points to a selected entry 1215 in buffer1213. The data (plus CRC) bits and the parity bits of the selected entry1215 are applied to a selector 1214 that is controlled by a flip-flop1212. The data plus CRC) bits of entry 1215 are initially selected forthe outgoing packet. If a negative acknowledgment (NAK) is received, theflip-flop 1212 toggles, thereby selecting the parity bits of entry 1215for the next outgoing packet. For all additional negativeacknowledgments that are received, the data (plus CRC) and parity bitsof entry 1215 are alternately selected at 1214 by the toggling operationof the flip-flop 1212 in response to the received negativeacknowledgements. When a positive acknowledgment (ACK) is received, theflip-flop 1212 is cleared and the counter 1211 is incremented, therebymoving the pointer to select another data entry of buffer 1213 forconnection to the selector 1214. Of course, the counter 1211 can also beincremented in response to a pre-determined time-out condition.

Exemplary simulation results shown in FIG. 13 compare the throughput ofBluetooth (131) against mode 2 (132, 133). The simulation assumes singlepath independent Rayleigh fading for each hopping frequency. This is agood model for mode 2, for the exponential decaying channel model asspecified in the aforementioned criteria document. The x-axis is theaverage E_(b)/N₀ of the channel over all the hopping frequencies. For 16QAM (132) mode 2 achieves 2.6×throughput of Bluetooth and for 64 QAM(133) mode achieves 3.9×throughput of Bluetooth. Depending on the EbNoor other available channel quality information, the modulation schemethat offers the highest throughput can be chosen.

FIGS. 14, 14C and 14D illustrate exemplary system parameters for mode 3.The symbol rate in these parameter examples is 11 Msymbols/sec (which isthe same as in IEEE 802.11(b)), and the spreading parameter is 11Mchips/sec for these examples. FIG. 14A shows further parameter exampleswith a spreading parameter of 18 Mchips/sec and a symbol rate of 18Msymbols/sec. The transmit spectrum mask for mode 3 can be, for example,the same as in IEEE 802.11(b), as shown in FIG. 15. At a symbol rate of11 Msymbols/sec this spectrum mask allows a reasonable cost filter. Thisspectrum mask can be achieved, for example, by a raised cosine filter ofα=0.22. In one example, the master and slave can start communicating inmode 1. If both devices agree to switch to mode 3, the probe, listen andselect (PLS) protocol for frequency band selection is activated. In someexemplary embodiments, this protocol allows selection (for mode 3transmission) of the best contiguous 22 MHz band in the entire 79 MHzrange. This gives frequency diversity gains. FIG. 16 shows exemplarysimulation results of the packet error rate (PER) for the IEEE 802.15.3exponential channel model as specified in the aforementioned criteriadocument for a delay spread of 25 ns. The simulation results (usinguncoded QPSK) compare performance using PLS according to the invention(161) to performance without PLS (162). The delay spread of 25 ns givesa frequency diversity of 3 to the PLS technique over the 79 MHz ISMband. This results in a performance gain for PLS of about 15 dB.

Exemplary communications between transceivers employing modes 1 and 3can include the following: begin transmission in mode 1 and use PLS toidentify good 22 MHz contiguous bands; negotiate to enter mode 3; afterspending time T₂ in mode 3 come back to mode 1 for time T₁; the mastercan communicate with any Bluetooth devices during time T₁ in mode 1;also during time T₁ and while in mode 1, PLS can be used again toidentify good 22 MHz bands; the devices again negotiate to enter mode 3,this time possibly on a different 22 MHz band (or the same band).

An example with T₁=25 ms and T₂=225 ms is shown in the state transitiondiagram of FIG. 17. These choices allow transmission of 6 video framesof 18 Mbps HDTV MPEG2 video every 250 ms.

A master can communicate with several devices in mode 1 whilecommunicating with other devices in mode 3, as shown in the exemplaryWPAN of FIG. 18.

An exemplary timing diagram illustrating transmission in modes 1 and 3is shown in FIG. 19. The Master and Slave communicate in Mode 3 forT₂=225 msec. while the remaining 25 ms are used for communicating withother Slaves (e.g. for 17.5 ms) and for PLS (e.g. for 7.5 ms) todetermine the best 22 MHz transmission for the next transmission in mode3. The time used for PLS is also referred to herein as T_(PLS).

FIG. 19A diagrammatically illustrates an exemplary embodiment of awireless communication transceiver according to the invention. Thetransceiver of FIG. 19A supports mode 1 and mode 3 operation. A modecontroller 195 produces a control signal 196 which controls transitionsbetween mode 1 operation and mode 3 operation by selecting between amode 1 transceiver (XCVR) section 197 and a mode 3 transceiver section198. The mode controller 195 communicates at 192 with the mode 1transceiver section 197, and also communicates at 193 with the mode 3transceiver section 198.

Since the Bluetooth (mode 1) transceiver 197 is capable of hopping atthe maximum rate of 3200 hops/sec (each hop is on a 1 MHz band), thisrate can be used for channel sounding. This means that the duration ofeach slot (master-to-slave or slave-to-master) is 312.5 microseconds. Apseudorandom hopping pattern is used in some embodiments. This patternis chosen such that the entire 79 MHz range is sampled at a sufficientrate (e.g. in 5 MHz steps) to identify the best 22 MHz frequency band.Using this hopping pattern the master can, in mode 1 (Bluetooth), sendthe slave short packets, also referred to herein as probe packets, ofthe format shown in FIG. 20. Notice that exemplary probe packet of FIG.20 is the same as a Bluetooth ID packet. The slave estimates the channelquality based, for example, upon the correlation of the access code(e.g. the Bluetooth sync word) of the received probe packet. Note that aspecial or dedicated probe packet is not necessarily required, becausechannel quality can also be estimated based on normal mode 1 trafficpackets.

Referring to the example of FIG. 21, after 16 probe packets (each oftime duration 312.5 microseconds including turn around time), the slavewill decide on the best contiguous 22 MHz band to use in mode 3, andwill then send the index of the lowest frequency of that band to themaster 8 times using 8 slots (each of time duration 312.5 microseconds).This index will be a number from 1 to 57 (79 (bandwidth of ISM band)−22(bandwidth in mode 3)=57), and thus requires a maximum of 6 bits. These6 bits are repeated 3 times, so the payload of each slave-to-masterpacket (FIG. 22), also referred to herein as selection packets, will bea total of 18 bits. This leaves 226 μsec. for the turn around time. Thenumber n (e.g. 16 in FIG. 21) of master-to-slave packets and the numberk (e.g. 8 in FIG. 21) of slave-to-master packets can be predefined bythe PLS protocol or agreed upon during the initial handshake between themaster and slave. Also, the slave can send probe packets to the masterso the master can evaluate the slave-to-master channel.

The channel state of each 1 MHz band can be estimated, for example, byusing the maximum value of the correlation of the access code or anyknown part of the probe packet. This gives a good estimate of theamplitude of the fading parameter in that 1 MHz channel. The best 22 MHzband can then be chosen using this information.

For example, for each contiguous 22 MHz frequency band, where the jthfrequency band is designated f(j), a quality parameter q_(f(j)) can becalculated as follows

$q_{f{(j)}} = {\sum\limits_{i}{\alpha_{i}}^{2}}$where |α_(i)| is the magnitude of the fading parameter amplitudeestimate (e.g. a correlation value) for the ith frequency hop in f(j).The frequency band f(j) having the maximum q_(f(j)) is taken to be thebest band.

As another example, a quality parameter q_(f(j)) can be calculated foreach contiguous 22 MHz band asq _(f(j))=min|α_(i)|and the band f(j) having the maximum q_(f(j)) is selected as the bestband.

As another example, the following quality parameters can be calculatedfor each contiguous 22 MHz band:

$q_{f{(j)}} = {\sum\limits_{i}{\alpha_{i}}^{2}}$A _(f(i))=min|α_(i)|B _(f(j))=max|α_(i)|Those frequency bands f(j) whose associated A_(f(j)) and B_(f(j))produce a ratio A_(f(j))/B_(f(j)) larger than a predetermined thresholdvalue can be identified, and the one of the identified frequency bandshaving the largest q_(f(j)) is taken to be the best band. The thresholdvalue can be determined, for example, empirically on the basis ofexperimentation for desired performance in expected channel conditions.

Consider a PLS example with n=16 and k=8. This indicates that the 79 MHzband should be sampled in 5 MHz steps. The hopping pattern is thereforegiven by:

-   -   o={0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70,        75}.

The ith PLS frequency hop is defined to be f(i)=(x+o(i))mod(79); i=1, 2. . . , 16.

Here x is the index of the Bluetooth hopping frequency that would occurat the beginning of the PLS procedure, and can have values of x=0, 1, 2,. . . , 78. The index i can be taken sequentially from a pseudo randomsequence such as:

-   -   P={16, 4, 10, 8, 14, 12, 6, 1, 13, 7, 9, 11, 15, 5, 2, 3}.        Different pseudo random sequences can be defined for different        values of n and k.

The 8 transmissions from the slave to the master can use, for example,the first 8 frequencies of the sequence f(i), namely f(i) for i=1, 2, .. . , 8.

The above exemplary procedure can be summarized as follows:

1. Master sends to the slave the probe packet on the frequenciesdetermined by the sequence f(i). The transmit frequency is given by(2402+f(i)) MHz;

2. Slave estimates the quality of each channel;

3. After 16 master-to-slave probe packets, the slave estimates the best22 MHz band using all the quality information it has accumulated;

4. The slave sends to the master a selection packet including the indexof the lowest frequency of the best 22 MHz band;

5. The slave repeats step 4 a total of 8 times; and

6. Transmission starts in mode 3 using the selected 22 MHz band.

Example results of the PLS procedure applied to the exponentially fadingIEEE 802.15.3 channel for a delay spread of 25 ns. are shown in FIG. 23wherein the 79 MHz channel is sampled at a 5 MHz spacing. As shown, the5 MHz spacing can identify good 22 MHz contiguous bands in the 79 MHzbandwidth. The 1, 5, 22 and 79 MHz parameters described above are ofcourse only exemplary; other values can be used as desired. As oneexample, rather than hopping on 1 MHz channels, the system could hopover different bandwidth channels (e.g. a 22 MHz channel) and transmitdata occupying the whole channel.

FIG. 21A diagrammatically illustrates pertinent portions of an exemplaryembodiment of the mode controller of FIG. 19A. The embodiment of FIG.21A includes a probe and selection controller 211 which outputs to themode 1 transceiver section 197 information indicative of the frequencieson which the probe and selection packets are to be transmitted, and canalso provide the probe and selection packets to the mode transceiversection 197, depending upon whether the probe portion or the selectportion of the above-described PLS operation is being performed. A bandquality determiner 212 receives conventionally available correlationvalues from the mode 1 transceiver section 197 and determines therefromband quality information which is provided at 215 to a band selector213. The band quality information 215 can include, for example, any ofthe above-described quality parameters. The band selector 213 isoperable in response to the quality information 215 to select thepreferred frequency band for mode 3 communications. For example, theband selector 213 can use any of the above-described band selectioncriteria. The band selector 213 outputs at 216 to the probe andselection controller 211 the index of the lowest frequency of thepreferred frequency band. The probe and selection controller 211includes the received index in the selection packets that it provides tothe mode transceiver section 197 for transmission to the othertransceiver involved in the PLS operation.

The mode controller of FIG. 21A also includes a frequency band mapper214 which receives selection packets from the other transceiver involvedin the PLS operation. The frequency band mapper extracts the index fromthe selection packets and determines therefrom the selected 22 MHzfrequency band. Information indicative of the selected frequency band isoutput from the frequency band mapper 214 to the mode 3 transceiversection 198, after which mode 3 communication can begin.

FIG. 21B illustrates exemplary operations which can be performed by thetransceiver of FIGS. 19A and 21A. At 221, the aforementioned parametersn, k, T₁, T₂ and T_(PLS) are determined, for example, during initialhandshaking. At 222, the transceiver operates in mode for a period oftime equal to T₁−T_(PLS). Thereafter, at 223, n probe frequencies withinthe available bandwidth (BW) are determined, and a probe packet istransmitted on each probe frequency at 224. At 225, the probe packetsare received and corresponding frequency channel quality information(for example maximum correlation values) is obtained. At 226, thefrequency channel quality information is used to produce band qualityinformation, and the band quality information is used at 227 to select apreferred frequency band for mode 3 communication. At 228, k selectionpackets are transmitted on k different frequencies, each selectionpacket indicative of the selected frequency band. At 229, mode 3communications are performed using the selected frequency band for atime period of T₂. After expiration of the time T₂, mode 1communications resume at 222, and the above descr

FIG. 14B diagrammatically illustrates pertinent portions of a furtherexemplary embodiment of the mode controller of FIG. 19A. In the FIG. 14Bembodiment, a modulation and coding mapper 141 receives at 142 from theband selector 213 (See FIG. 21A) the band quality information associatedwith the 22 MHz band selected during the PLS procedure. The modulationand coding mapper 141 maps the band quality information onto, forexample, any of the exemplary modulation and channel coding combinationsshown at 1–22 in FIGS. 14, 14A, 14C and 14D. At 143, the mapper 141provides to the mode 3 transceiver section 198 information indicative ofthe selected modulation and channel coding combination. The mappingoperation can be defined, for example, so as to maximize the systemthroughput given the band quality information of the selected band. Insome exemplary embodiments, experimental simulation information similarto that shown in FIG. 13 above, for example, throughput versus bandquality for different modulation schemes and also for different codingrates, can be used by the mapper 141 to select the combination ofmodulation scheme and coding rate that provides the highest throughput,given the band quality of the selected band.

Referring again to FIGS. 17 and 19, several packets can be transmittedfrom the master to the slave and vice versa in the time slot period T₂(e.g. 225 ms) allocated for mode 3. A nominal packet size of, forexample, 200 microseconds can be used, as shown in FIG. 24. During theirinitial handshake, the master and the slave can, for example, agree on acertain number of packets to be sent in each direction. They can alsoagree (during the handshake) on the modulation scheme to be used in eachdirection.

In an example of one-way communications, and if ARQ (automatic repeatrequest) is used, the transmitting device can, for example, send apredetermined number of normal packets (also referred to herein as asuperpacket). The number of normal packets in the superpacket can beagreed upon in initial handshaking. After receipt of the predeterminednumber of normal packets, the receiving device can, for example, send ashort ARQ packet that is half the length of a normal packet. The ARQpacket can be preceded and followed by guard intervals (e.g. 100microseconds). The ARQ packet serves to acknowledge the reception of thenormal packets. Those packets whose CRC (cyclic redundancy code) did notcheck correctly are indicated in the ARQ packet. The transmitter canthen send the requested packets again in a further superpacket. Thisprocedure can be repeated until all packets get through or a time-outoccurs. FIG. 24 shows an exemplary slot format for the case of one-waycommunication, either from master to slave (explicitly shown) or slaveto master (not explicitly shown), with and without ARQ.

Two-way mode 3 communication from master to slave and slave to mastercan be handled similarly, as illustrated in the example of FIG. 24A.

ARQ and retransmissions are optional. Retransmissions can increase themode 3 performance in the presence of an interferer (such as a Bluetoothdevice). Referring to FIG. 24 for one-way transmission with ARQ, anexemplary retransmission technique (illustrated in FIG. 24B) is asfollows:

1. The master sends the slave a superpacket at 2401 including 100packets with CRC at the end of each packet.

2. The slave uses the CRC at 2402 to determine if the packets werereceived without error.

3. The slave sends the master an ARQ packet that has a payload of 100bits (see 2430, 2431 in FIG. 24B). Each bit corresponds to a receivedpacket. The bit is 1 if the packet was received with no error, and iszero if it was received in error. A CRC is appended at the end of theARQ packet.

4. If the master receives the ARQ packet correctly at 2404, the masterretransmits the requested packets (if any) to the slave (see 2405 inFIG. 24B). If the master does not receive the ARQ packet correctly at2404 (as indicated, for example, by a failed CRC check), then

(a) the master sends the slave an ARQ packet of size 100 μsec. (see 2410in FIG. 24B) asking for the slave's ARQ packet.

(b) the master then listens at 2404 for the slave's ARQ packet.

(c) Steps (a) and (b) are repeated by the master until he receives at2404 the slave's ARQ packet (sent at 2420 in FIG. 24B) and retransmitsthe requested packets, if any (see 2408), at 2405, or until the T₂ timeslot ends at 2406, at which time mode 1 communications begin.

5. Steps 2–4 are repeated until all the packets are received by theslave correctly (see 2408) or the T₂ time slot ends.

6. If the T₂ time slot does not end during step 4 or step 5 (see 2409),the master sends new packets to the slave.

If the master finishes sending all its packets before the T₂ time slotends, it can go to mode and communicate with other Bluetooth devices.For example, if MPEG 2 of rate 18 Mbps is being transmitted, six frames(250 ms of video) would require 204.5 ms at the rate of 22 Mbps. IfT₁+T₂=250 ms, and 10 ms are used for retransmission requests andretransmissions, and if 7.5 ms is used for PLS, this would leave themaster 28 ms for mode 1 Bluetooth communications.

Retransmissions for two-way communications (See FIG. 24A) can beaccomplished similarly to the above-described one-way communications.The slave device's ARQ requests maybe piggybacked onto the slave datapackets, or independent ARQ packets can be utilized.

FIG. 24C diagrammatically illustrates pertinent portions of exemplaryembodiments of a mode 3 transceiver capable of implementing theexemplary retransmission technique described above and illustrated inFIG. 24B. In FIG. 24C, the incoming superpacket data is applied to a CRCdecoder 242 which performs a CRC check for each packet of thesuperpacket. For a given packet, the CRC decoder 242 can shift a bitinto the register 243, for example a bit value of 1 if the CRC for thepacket checked correctly, and a bit value of 0 if the CRC for the packetdid not check correctly. Thus, the register 243 will be loaded with abit value for each packet of the superpacket. The bit values containedin the register 243 are input to logic 244 which determines whether ornot the CRC of every received packet checked correctly. If so, the logicoutput 248 signals a buffer 241, into which the incoming superpacketdata has been loaded, that the superpacket data can be passed on to ahigher layer. On the other hand, if the logic 244 determines that theCRC of one or more of the received packets did not check correctly, thenthe logic output 248 signals the buffer 241 to hold the superpacketdata.

The contents of register 243 are also provided to an ARQ generator 245which uses the register contents to fill the payload of an outgoing ARQpacket. When a superpacket including retransmitted packets is received,the retransmitted packets are buffered into their appropriatesuperpacket locations in buffer 241, and the CRC decoder 242 performs aCRC check for each retransmitted packet, providing the CRC results tothe register 243.

An ARQ receiver 246 receives incoming ARQ packets and responds theretoeither by prompting the ARQ generator 245 to send an appropriate ARQpacket, or by selecting requested packets of a previously buffered (see247) outgoing superpacket for retransmission to the other side.

Point-to-multipoint communications can be achieved by time divisionmultiplexing between various slaves. Each time slot for each slave canbe preceded by a PLS slot between the master and the concerned slave.

In some embodiments, each 200 μsec. length packet in FIG. 24 includesdata bits (payload) and a CRC of length 32 bits. The CRC is a 32-bitsequence generated, for example, using the following polynomialD³²+D²⁶+D²³+D²²+D¹⁶+D¹²+D¹¹+D¹⁰+D⁸+D⁷+D⁵+D⁴+D²+1. This exemplary packetformat is shown in FIG. 25.

FIG. 25A illustrates an exemplary ARQ packet format according to theinvention. The ARQ packet format of FIG. 25A is generally similar to thepacket format shown in FIG. 25, and includes the training sequence ofFIG. 26. The payload of the FIG. 25A packet is protected by a repetitioncode. The size of the FIG. 25A packet can be specified in its header, orcan be determined by the master based on: the number of packets in thesuperpacket sent by the master multiplied by the repetition code rate;the number of CRC bits; and the number of training bits.

Several of the packets in FIG. 24, the number of which can be agreedupon in the initial handshake, are preceded by a training sequence foracquisition of timing, automatic gain control and packet timing.Typically 10 packets are preceded by the training sequence. FIG. 26shows an exemplary format of the training sequence. FIG. 27 illustratesdiagrammatically a portion of the above-described exemplary slot formatof period T₂ in mode 3, including the training sequence (see also FIG.26) and the CRC.

The preamble of the FIG. 26 training sequence includes the pattern(1+j)* 1, −1, 1, −1, 1, −1, 1 −1, 1, −1, 1, −1, 1 −1, 1, −1, 1, −1, 1,−1, 1, −1] and it aids in the initial symbol timing acquisition by thereceiver. The preamble is followed in this FIG. 26 example by the 64-bitBluetooth sync. word transmitted using quadrature phase shift keying(QPSK), implying a 32 symbol transmission in mode 3. The sync. word isfollowed by the header transmitted using QPSK modulation. The farthestconstellations in the 16 QAM are employed for the transmission of thepreamble, sync. word and header (see FIG. 6). Referring also to FIG. 27,the header is followed by a payload such that the total time occupied bythe packet is 200 microseconds. The payload is followed by the 32-bitCRC.

It should be understood that the above-described slot and packet formatsare exemplary only and that, for example: the packet length can be setto any desired length; a different size polynomial can be used for theCRC; and a different size training sequence can be used with thepreamble, sync word and header sized as desired. It should also beunderstood that the above-described slot and packet formats are readilyapplicable to two-way communications.

The exemplary slot and packet formats described above permit, forexample, transmission of HDTV MPEG2 video at 18 Mbps. Assume, forexample, that 24 frames/sec. is transmitted for MPEG 2 video. Thus, themaster transmits to the slave 100 packets each of length 200 μsec.carrying a data payload of 2184 symbols. Assuming, for example, that 10such packets are preceded by the training sequence of 81 symbols (FIG.26), and that 16 QAM with rate ½ coding is used, 206.8 msec. is neededfor transmission of 6 video frames. Assuming a 9% ARQ rate implies thatthe total time required for 6 video frames is 225 msec. FIG. 28summarizes exemplary transmission parameters for HDTV MPEG2 videotransmission using mode 3.

The receiver algorithms for acquisition and packet reception in mode 3are similar to mode 2. An exemplary block diagram of mode 3 receiveralgorithms is shown in FIG. 29. An exemplary receiver embodiment formode 3 is shown diagrammatically in FIG. 30. The demodulator of FIG. 30shown generally at 301 can include, for example, channel estimation,equalization, and symbol-to-bit mapping.

An exemplary transmitter embodiment for mode 3 is shown in FIG. 31. EachD/A converter 310 on the I and Q channels can be, for example, an 6-bit44 MHz converter. The transmitter and receiver of FIGS. 31 and 30 can beused together to form the exemplary modetransceiver of FIG. 19A above.

In some exemplary embodiments, modulation options such as QPSK, 16-QAMand 8-PSK (8-ary phase shit keying) can be used in mode 3, as shown inFIGS. 32, 32A and 33. Referring to the QPSK example of FIG. 32, anexemplary cover sequence S, such as used in IEEE 802.11, is used tospread the transmitted symbols. The mapping from bits to symbols isshown in FIG. 32. Referring to the 8-PSK example of FIG. 32A, the coversequence S, as used in IEEE 802.11, is used to spread the transmittedsymbols. The mapping from bits to symbols is shown in FIG. 32A.Referring to the 16-QAM example of FIG. 33, the cover sequence (alsoreferred to herein as a scrambling code) S, as used in IEEE 802.11, isused to spread the transmitted symbols. The mapping from bits to symbolsis shown in FIG. 33. In the examples of FIGS. 32 and 33, S_(i)represents the ith member of the sequence S, and is either 1 or 0. Insome embodiments, no cover sequence is used, in which case theconstellations associated with either value of S can be used.

The exponentially delayed Rayleigh channel example shown in FIG. 34 istypical of an anticipated operating environment and may therefore beused to test performance. The complex amplitudes of the channel impulseresponse of FIG. 34 are given byh _(i) =N(0,σ_(k) ²/2)+jN(0,σ_(k) ²/2)σ_(k) ²=σ₀ ² e ^(−kT) ^(s) ^(/T) ^(RMS)σ₀ ²=1−e ^(−T) ^(s) ^(/T) ^(RMS)T_(RMS)=25

This channel model requires equalization (at the outputs of the filters305 in FIG. 30), and this can be done in a variety of ways, twoconventional examples of which are described below with respect to FIGS.35 and 36.

A block diagram of an exemplary MMSE (minimum mean squared error)equalizer section is shown in FIG. 35. The equalizer section includes anMMSE equalizer, followed by a block DFE (decision feedback equalizer).The MMSE produces at 350 decisions on all the symbols using the minimummean squared error criterion and an estimate of the channel. The DFEsubtracts the decisions of all the symbols obtained by the MMSE from theinput signal and then produces at 351 matched filter soft-decisions onall the symbols. These are then fed to a soft-decisions block thatproduces at 352 soft decisions on the bit-level. These bit-level softdecisions are in turn fed to the turbo-decoder 307 (see FIG. 30) or to athreshold device in the case of an uncoded system.

The exemplary MAP equalizer section of FIG. 36 maximizes the aposteriori probabilities of the transmitted symbols given the receivedsignal and an estimate of the channel. These symbol probabilities 360are then converted to bit probabilities by summing over the symbols at361. These bit probabilities 362 are then input to the turbo decoder ora threshold device.

Video transmission typically requires a BER of 10⁻⁸, so turbo coding isused to achieve this error rate. Parallel concatenated convolutionalcodes (PCCC) are known to have an error floor at about 10⁻⁷, whileserial concatenated convolutional codes (SCCC) do not have an errorfloor and can meet the BER requirements. The SCCC in FIG. 37 isconventional, and was originally proposed by Divsalar and Pollara in“Serial and Hybrid Concatenated Codes with Applications,” ProceedingsInternational Symposium of Turbo Codes and Applications, Brest, France,September 1997, pp. 80–87, incorporated herein by reference.

Exemplary results of Monte-Carlo simulations for modeare given in FIGS.38–44. In all simulations a frame size with 4096 information bits wasused. FIGS. 38 and 39 show the FER and BER in an AWGN channel. FIGS. 40and 41 show the FER and BER in the IEEE 802.15.3 multipath channelwithout fading. FIGS. 42 and 43 show the FER and BER in the IEEE802.15.3 multipath channel with fading. FIG. 44 shows the FER in asingle-path Rayleigh fading channel.

Due to typical transceiver size constraints, a single antenna may bedesirable for transmit and receive according to the invention. However,it is possible to use two antennas for transmit and receive diversity.Simple schemes like switched diversity can be easily incorporated in agiven transceiver device according to the invention, while also beingtransparent to other devices (e.g. in a Bluetooth piconet). Themodulation techniques described above are also applicable to morecomplex transmit diversity techniques such as, space time coding, beamforming and others.

The aforementioned modulation schemes of the invention also allow morecomplex coding schemes like parallel concatenated trellis codedmodulation (PCTCM) and serially concatenated trellis coded modulation(SCTCM). Also, a lower complexity trellis code (which can perform betterthan the turbo coding of FIG. 37) can easily be incorporated intransceiver devices according to the invention.

As discussed above, FIGS. 10 (receiver) and 11 (transmitter) illustratean exemplary transceiver for mode 2. Many parts of the modereceiver, forexample, the front end filter 105, LNA 106, RF/IF converter 107, and theSAW filter 108 can be shared with mode 1. The baseband for amodereceiver requires additional logic (beyond mode 1) for receivefiltering, AGC, timing acquisition, channel estimation, QAM demodulationand Viterbi decoding in the case of ARQ. In some embodiments, the extragate count for this additional logic is approximately 10,000 gates.

As discussed above, FIGS. 30 (receiver) and 31 (transmitter) illustratean exemplary transceiver for mode 3. Many parts of the modereceiver, forexample, the front end filter 308, LNA 306, and RF/IF converter 302 canbe shared with mode 1. The implementation of mode 1+mode 3 will requirean additional SAW filter over a mode 1 implementation because of thelarger bandwidth of modecompared to mode 1. The baseband for a mode 3receiver requires additional logic (beyond mode 1) for AGC, timingacquisition, channel estimation, QAM demodulation, equalization andturbo decoding. In some embodiments, the extra gate count for thisadditional logic is approximately 100,000 gates.

It will be evident to workers in the art that exemplary transceiverembodiments according to the invention can be realized, for example, bymaking suitable hardware and/or software modifications in a conventionalBluetooth MAC. Some exemplary advantages provided by the invention asdescribed above are listed below.

-   Interoperability with Bluetooth: a high rate WPAN piconet according    to the invention can accommodate several mode 1 (Bluetooth) and mode    2 or mode 3 devices simultaneously.-   High Throughput: in modea high rate WPAN according to the invention    supports 6 simultaneous connections each with a data rate of 20 Mbps    giving a total throughput of 6×20=120 Mbps over the whole 2.4 GHz    ISM band. In modethe high rate WPAN supports the same number of    connections as Bluetooth with a data rate of up to 4 Mbps each.-   Coexistence: there is only a 10% reduction in throughput for    Bluetooth in the vicinity of an exemplary WPAN according to the    invention. The PLS technique implies a 0% reduction in throughput    for IEEE 802.11 in the vicinity of a WPAN according to the invention    because PLS will select a different frequency band.-   Jamming Resistance: the PLS technique helps avoid interference from    microwave, Bluetooth and IEEE 802.11, thus making it robust to    jamming.-   Low Sensitivity Level: exemplary sensitivity level for mode 2 is −78    dBm and for mode is −69 dBm.-   Low Power Consumption: the estimated power consumption for mode 2 in    year 2001 is 25 mW average for receive and 15 mW average for    transmit, and the estimated power consumption for mode 3 in year    2001 is 95 mW average for receive and 60 mW average for transmit.

Although exemplary embodiments of the invention are described above indetail, this does not limit the scope of the invention, which can bepracticed in a variety of embodiments.

1. A wireless packet communication apparatus, comprising: an input forreceiving information indicative of frequency channel qualitycorresponding to correlation values associated with a plurality of probefrequencies which are within an available frequency bandwidth and onwhich a plurality of probe packets have respectively been received fromanother wireless packet communication apparatus via a wirelesscommunication link; a band quality determiner coupled to said input forusing said frequency channel quality information to produce informationindicative of frequency band quality associated with the correlationvalues respectively taken as fading parameter amplitude estimates; and aband selector coupled to said band quality determiner and responsive tosaid frequency band quality information for selecting one of saidfrequency bands for use in wireless packet communications with saidanother wireless packet communication apparatus.
 2. The apparatus ofclaim 1, including a controller coupled to said band selector forproviding for transmission to said another wireless packet communicationapparatus a plurality of selection packets which each includeinformation indicative of the selected frequency band.
 3. The apparatusof claim 2, wherein said controller is operable for providing aplurality of corresponding transmit frequencies on which the respectiveselect packets are to be transmitted to said another wireless packetcommunication apparatus.
 4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein saidcontroller is operable for providing, for use in receiving said probepackets, information indicative of said probe frequencies.
 5. A wirelesspacket communication apparatus, comprising: a controller for providing aplurality of probe packets and a corresponding plurality of probefrequencies which are within an available frequency bandwidth and onwhich the probe packets are to be transmitted via a wirelesscommunication link to another wireless packet communication apparatus;an output coupled to said probe controller for outputting said probepackets to the wireless communication link respectively on said probefrequencies; and an input for receiving a selection packet which hasbeen received from said another wireless packet communication apparatusvia the wireless communication link and which includes informationindicative of the selected frequency band in response to correlationvalues respectively associated with the probe packets transmitted on therespective probe frequencies taken to be fading parameter amplitudeestimates.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, including a mapper coupled tosaid input and responsive to said selected frequency band informationfor determining therefrom the selected frequency band.
 7. The apparatusof claim 5, wherein said input is for receiving a plurality of saidselection packets and said controller is operable for providinginformation indicative of a plurality of frequencies on which theselection packets are to be respectively received.
 8. The apparatus ofclaim 5, wherein said plurality of probe frequencies are distributedacross the available frequency bandwidth.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8,wherein said plurality of probe frequencies are distributed evenlyacross the available frequency bandwidth.
 10. The apparatus of claim 8,wherein said distribution of said probe frequencies across the availablefrequency bandwidth corresponds to a total number of probe packets insaid plurality of probe packets.
 11. A method of performing wirelesscommunication with a wireless communication transceiver, comprising: fora first predetermined period of time, receiving predeterminedinformation via a wireless communication link using a plurality offrequencies within an available frequency bandwidth; obtainingcorrelation values respectively associated with packets transmitted onthe plurality of frequencies indicative of frequency channel qualityassociated with the plurality of frequencies and taking the correlationvalues to be the fading parameter amplitude estimates; using thefrequency channel quality information to select from the availablefrequency bandwidth a frequency band; for a second predetermined periodof time, transmitting via the wireless communication link informationindicative of the selected frequency band; and upon expiration of thesecond predetermined period, communicating via the wirelesscommunication link using the selected frequency band.
 12. The method ofclaim 11, including defining said first and second predetermined periodsof time during an initial handshake with a remote wireless communicationtransceiver.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein said communicating stepis performed at a higher data rate than said transmitting step.
 14. Amethod of choosing a communication parameter for use in wirelesscommunications, comprising: identifying within an available frequencybandwidth a plurality of frequency bands which each includes a pluralityof available frequency channels; obtaining correlation valuesrespectively associated with packets transmitted on said frequencychannels and taking the correlation values to be the fading parameteramplitude estimates; for each of said frequency bands, using the fadingparameter information associated with the frequency channels thereof toproduce band quality information indicative of frequency channelcommunication quality within the frequency band; and based on the bandquality information, selecting one of the frequency bands for use inwireless communications.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein said usingstep includes, for each of said frequency bands, summing squares of thefading parameter amplitude estimates associated with the frequencychannels in the frequency band to produce a sum for the frequency band,and wherein said selecting step includes selecting the frequency bandwhose associated sum is the largest of said sums.
 16. The method ofclaim 14, wherein said using step includes, for each of said frequencybands, selecting the smallest of the fading parameter amplitudeestimates associated with the frequency channels within the frequencyband, and wherein said first-mentioned selecting step includes selectingthe frequency band whose smallest fading parameter amplitude estimate isthe largest of said smallest fading parameter amplitude estimates. 17.The method of claim 14, wherein said using step includes, for each ofsaid frequency bands, determining the smallest and largest of the fadingparameter amplitude estimates associated with the frequency channels ofthe frequency band and, for each of said frequency bands, summingsquares of the fading parameter amplitude estimates associated with thefrequency channels of the frequency band to produce a sum for thefrequency band, and identifying those frequency bands whose smallest andlargest fading parameter amplitude estimates have a predetermined mutualrelationship, and wherein said selecting step includes selecting fromsaid identified frequency bands the frequency band whose associated sumis the largest of said sums.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein saididentifying step includes identifying every frequency band wherein aratio of the smallest fading parameter amplitude estimate thereof to thelargest fading parameter amplitude estimate thereof exceeds apredetermined threshold value.
 19. The method of claim 14, includingselecting modulation and channel coding for use in communications basedon the band quality information associated with the selected frequencyband.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein said modulation is one ofQPSK, 16-QAM and 8-PSK, and wherein said channel coding has a codingrate that is one of ⅓, ½, ⅔, ¾, ⅘, ⅚ and
 1. 21. A wireless communicationapparatus, comprising: an input for receiving fading parameterinformation including fading parameter amplitude estimates respectivelyassociated with a plurality of frequency channels within an availablefrequency bandwidth in a first mode having a first data rate, saidavailable frequency bandwidth including a plurality of frequency bandswhich each include a plurality of said frequency channels; a bandquality determiner coupled to said input and operable with respect toeach of said frequency bands to sum squares of the fading parameteramplitude estimates associated with the frequency channels in thefrequency band to produce a sum for the frequency band; and a selectorcoupled to said band quality determiner for selecting the frequency bandwhose associated sum is the largest of said sums, one of the frequencybands for use in wireless communications.
 22. A wireless communicationapparatus, comprising: an input for receiving fading parameterinformation including fading parameter amplitude estimates respectivelyassociated with a plurality of frequency channels within an availablefrequency bandwidth in a first mode having a first data rate, saidavailable frequency bandwidth including a plurality of frequency bandswhich each include a plurality of said frequency channels, wherein saidfading parameter amplitude estimates are correlation values respectivelyassociated with packets transmitted on the respective frequencychannels; a band quality determiner coupled to said input and operablewith respect to each of said frequency bands for using the fadingparameter information associated with the frequency channels of saidfrequency band to produce band quality information indicative offrequency channel communication quality within said frequency band; anda selector coupled to said band quality determiner for selecting, basedon the band quality information, one of the frequency bands for use inwireless communications.
 23. The apparatus of claim 21, including amapper coupled to said selector for receiving the band qualityinformation associated with the selected frequency band and mapping thereceived band quality information into modulation and channel coding.24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein said modulation is one of QPSK,16-QAM and 8-PSK, and wherein said channel coding has a coding rate thatis one of ⅓, ½, ⅔, ¾, ⅘, ⅚ and
 1. 25. A wireless communicationapparatus, comprising: an input for receiving fading parameterinformation including fading parameter amplitude estimates respectivelyassociated with a plurality of frequency channels within an availablefrequency bandwidth in a first mode having a first data rate, saidavailable frequency bandwidth including a plurality of frequency bandswhich each include a plurality of said frequency channels; a bandquality determiner coupled to said input and operable with respect toeach of said frequency bands to select the smallest of the fadingparameter amplitude estimates associated with the frequency channelswithin the frequency band to produce band quality information indicativeof frequency channel communication quality within said frequency band;and a selector coupled to said band quality determiner, operable forselecting the frequency band whose smallest fading parameter amplitudeestimate is the largest of said smallest fading parameter amplitudeestimates, one of the frequency bands for use in wirelesscommunications.